'The contest will be a four-round elimination where the top four finalists will compete during portions of two Sabres home games at the beginning of the season (October 11 and 13). The winner will be announced live during the Sabres game on October 19 against the Columbus Blue Jackets.'

‘The initial entry for the contest will consist of an on-camera audition, explaining in two minutes or less why the contestant would be a unique and interesting in-game host. The winner of the contest will receive the opportunity to host 10 home games during the regular season.’

‘The Buffalo Sabres are staging their own reality show at a downtown arena near you. They are calling it their Emcee Contest, and it’s a combination of “American Idol” and “Survivor,” with the winner serving as the team’s in-game Jumbotron host for 10 games this season.’

'The Sabres can negotiate with Roy and Paetsch until their hearings begin. At arbitration, the team and players each present their case for the players’ salary. A judge determines how much the player will make.'

‘But with no changes planned on the Sabres coaching staff, he is looking elsewhere for a chance to move up to the NHL. He is under contract to the Sabres until the end of August but Sabres General Manager Darcy Regier said he has granted “more than one” team permission to speak with Cunneyworth.’

‘“They’ve got some defensemen. I’m just looking forward to proving that I can be in the lineup and hopefully good things will happen for me,” Sekera said. “Time will show. At training camp, if I play in exhibition games, we’ll see where I’m at. Hopefully, I’m ready for it.”’

‘”I had to look for better opportunities for myself but Darcy (Regier) made it clear to me that the Sabres wanted me to come back,” said Ryan “The situation was everything I was looking for. I have a great relationship with Lindy (Ruff) and Darcy so it was the right fit to go back.”‘

‘In fact, big-market teams do have a distinct edge. Teams from larger (see: wealthy) markets, such as Philadelphia and New York, can offer longterm deals loaded with more money up front because they can afford to buy out players toward the end of the contract. The structure of the deals helps them circumvent the salary cap while still drawing the better players.’

‘“I’m leaving Buffalo and the Sabres, and I’m taking with me just the good memories,” Briere said. “Obviously, there’s been some tough times and there’s things I wish would have been done differently. But you know, that’s not what I’m taking,” he continued. “And, I’m hoping it’s the same thing with the fans, that they keep cherishing the good memories and especially the past two seasons we’ve had here.”’

'Instead, Briere says when the season ended he waited and waited and waited for the Sabres offer. "When there's a week left before free agency that's when I kind of realized they were moving in a different direction and there's no hard feelings," says the former Sabres co-captain, "Obviously I would have liked to continue my career here but it's not the way it panned out."'

'The Penguins are scheduled to play twice in Buffalo this season, once Jan. 1 and again Feb. 17. Each game is scheduled to be played at HSBC Arena and start at 1 p.m., but the Feb. 17 contest will be played on a Sunday — an ideal slot for NBC to televise an outdoor game, given that major sporting competition would be limited to the NBA and college basketball.'